Idea of the Day: How to find money...

I cashed in $150 worth of coins at a Coinstar machine the other day. There’s one at my local supermarket, which makes the service especially convenient. On the other hand, the machine charges 9% to redeem coins for cash. Ouch. There was a good alternative though: I opted to trade in my full balance for a Lowe’s gift card, and received 100% cash value. Heck, I was remodeling my bathroom anyway so the timing was right....

Idea of the Day: Crowdsourcing happy meals...

This is the Einstein bobblehead doll. My daughter received one in her Happy Meal last week. The toy was apparently promoting the movie “Night at the Museum.” Neither Noah, her friend Katie nor I made that connection at the time. The toy doesn’t do much (after all, it’s a bobblehead) though when you push down the head it locks in place, and can only be unlocked by inserting a card into a special slot. Katie’s...

Idea of the Day: How to save newspapers...

If you are unfamiliar with the publishing industry, today’s Idea of the Day might require a bit of background. For more context you can read further here. (It even includes a picture of a guy sitting on a toilet reading a paper. That’s worth checking out, right?). For the cut-to-the-chase version, here’s how I think publishers could revitalize newspapers: Instead of charging for subscriptions, they...

Idea of the Day: Twitter tag clouds...

Maybe this exists and I just haven’t seen it yet (I think 4,000 new Twitter apps roll out every day, after all). Twitter should embed intelligence to find/follow people who have similar interests. If I’m tweeting about microfinance, sustainable energy, entrepreneurship, etc. there should be a way to aggregate those keywords. (For an example of what this could look like, scroll down my page and see the rotating...

Idea of the Day: a hands-free toothbrush (rethink ...

Here are two things to consider: 1. If we spend two minutes, twice per day brushing our teeth and the average lifespan of an American is somewhere around 75 years, that’s approximately 1,825 hours or seventy six days that we spend brushing our teeth. I came to this realization when I asked my daughter to contribute an idea of the day. To encourage her thought process, I asked her to think about something she doesn’t...

Idea of the Day: we need a “Home Depot”...

Will you allow me to be contrarian for a moment? I don’t believe Home Depot is successful because they have the lowest prices around. That’s reversed. They have the lowest prices around because they are so successful. I know there are strong points to make the opposite case, but bear with me for a moment. Here’s my point: they are not just a hardware store, they are a lifestyle company. There’s...

Idea of the Day: commercial composting...

(note: today’s idea is derived from my longer essay about organic waste management. For more context, check out the full story here). Even though food and paper waste accounts for nearly half of our landfill space, there are no commercially suitable composting options on the market today. To be marketable, such a system would need to be affordable, manageable and efficient. The best idea I can think of would essentially...

Idea of the Day: Holographic ebooks (R2D2 knew thi...

Do you remember that classic scene from the first Star Wars movie (yeah, I know it was actually episode IV) where Luke discovers R2D2’s holographic image of Princess Leia imploring “Help us Obi-Wan Kenobi, you’re our only hope?” I bet that’s not too far off. No, not the Star Wars part…that was a long time ago (in a galaxy far, far away). I’m talking about the hologram. If you...

Idea of the Day: k-12 in a box (a human basics lea...

A little while ago I wrote about the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) initiative and detailed some of the opportunities and challenges inherent in their vision. In case you haven’t read that yet (or might not), here’s my main take away: OLPC’s biggest challenge is convincing people that their attempt to bring the illiterate and impoverished into the digital age makes sense. I can give you one very good reason...

Idea of the Day: recycling at Quincy Market (and b...

What’s missing from this picture? Can’t guess? I’ll give you a bit of background then. I snapped it at Quincy Market last weekend. This is a standard trash can, as I’m sure you figured out. But what’s wrong is what’s not there: you don’t see a recycling container there. do you? Nope. And that’s because there are no recycling bins in Quincy Market. I find this same occurrence...

Idea of the Day: color changing cars & contac...

My daughter Genevieve brought home a pencil that changes from green to yellow when rubbed. After a while it reverts back to the original color. Cool. This is friction-based, of course. I thought about this for a few days then asked my other daughter Noah what she would use that kind of technology for. Her first answer was ’shoes.’ Interesting, as I had considered that too but couldn’t see how it would...

Idea of the Day: 17 ways to stimulate new ideas...

The “Idea of the Day” blog can be entertaining and informative (I hope), but its actual intent is to help you enhance your problem solving capabilities by cultivating your critical thinking skills. When I meet with clients, I know that they will need me to help them think of things they haven’t thought of before. They usually understand the scope of their challenges pretty well, so overcoming current obstacles...

Idea of the Day: a locator for your t.v. remote(s)...

How often do you lose your television/tivo/dvr/stereo/* remote(s)? In my house it only happens on two occasions: A. Every ten minutes (hey, we have four kids you know). B. Any time I want to watch tv (which is infrequent, fortunately). But when it does happen, I always wonder why can’t tv/cable/consumer electronics companies simply build in a transceiver like the one that helps you find your cordless phone (by...

Idea of the Day: how to profit from free designs...

Here’s something that might work: Start a website that aggregates and licenses the thousands of free WordPress templates that are available online. When someone downloads the free template from your site, offer them matching business cards, brochure templates, etc. Give a percentage of the stationary revenue back to the template designer. This will enable the person or company buying the WordPress template...

Idea of the Day: 10 great sites for idea people...

Today I’ll take a slight detour. Instead of providing my own original idea, I’d like to share with you some great resources. Here are 10 great sites for idea people. Some are thought provoking blogs, others are idea exchanges. Note that there are some pretty credible authorities here (ex: Harvard Business School, The Economist magazine) and there is a bit of a slant toward how you can bring your ideas to life....

Zip-it: Something cool from Faneuil Hall, Boston...

Check out this cool thing I discovered yesterday at Faneuil Hall. It’s called Zip..it and “It’s The Hip Zip.” It’s a pocket book (or change purse, laptop bag or backpack depending on which size and model you choose). I was walking by a cart wife my wife, when the merchant at their stand asked me “Hey, do you know what this is?” It looked like he was holding a long zipper. In fact, he was holder...

Idea of the Day: engaging media – choose you...

When I was growing up there was a series of books under the “Choose Your Own Adventure” title that presented a storyline from a second-person point of view, so that the reader could become the first-person. As a result, he/she got to engage with the book beyond a traditional reading relationship, and actually choose which direction the action would flow. For example, if the story moved me into a cave and there was...

Idea of the Day: lighten up (or dim down)...

Install dimmer switches in airplanes. My shortest post ever, because it’s such a no-brainer. But if you want more, read this.

Idea of the Day: built to last...

How would you build a company based on the principle of making things that last? I would build one really good product and service it unconditionally for life. Then I’d build a whole brand around it. We’d make everything from Christmas tree lights to can openers, humidifiers, etc. (think of things you need to replace regularly, but really shouldn’t have to). This would essentially be re-creating L.L. Bean,...

Idea of the Day: how to fix k-12 funding...

Yesterday NPR reported that the State of Massachusetts has already spent 90% of the federal stimulus money that was earmarked for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 fiscal school years. The problem? Because of the state’s current deficit, this money is actually being spent over the two year period of 2009 and 2010. You can see where that’s headed, right? This gets me thinking: why is k-12 built on a non-profit model?...

Idea of the Day: get your company to go incognito...

Here’s a new idea that blends transparency, anonymity and crowdsourcing. But it’s a meritocracy too. What if there were a website that: Encouraged companies to anonymously post a problem and ask for suggestions Allowed anyone to recommend a solution Allowed registered users to create personal profiles and recommend solutions. Encouraged companies to give positive feedback (stars, or a thumbs-up rating) to users...

Idea of the Day: how to fix social entrepreneurshi...

I believe in philanthropy, particularly for the truly impoverished, but I don’t have too much faith in top-down economics of any form (charitable, governmental or otherwise). Last night I listened to a great presentation from Board members of the American Association for the Social Advancement of India (AASAI). They are a non-profit primarily focused on subsidizing the cost of education, social welfare and healthcare....

“It’s not a computer, it’s an ex...

“It’s not a computer, it’s an experience” says Satish Jha, President and CEO of One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) India. Maybe you’ve heard of them. Does this look familiar? OLPC is that small (30 person) company with the audacious vision of truly bridging the global digital divide. Founded by Nicholas Negroponte (whom also led the start up of MIT’s Media Lab), the organization is determined...

The turnaround: turning angry customers into brand...

There’s an old marketing adage that says “customers are 10 times as likely to talk about negative experiences as positive interactions.” I learned this in my first semester at college. Yesterday, I witnessed two completely completely different approaches to how a company could resolve this unfortunate but realistic situation. Here’s the full story. Or, if you prefer, here are the highlights from two case...

Wi-Fi is free at Starbucks (except when you have t...

I was just getting to like Starbucks. Though I consider myself to be somewhat of a thought leader (and I hope that’s not too arrogant) I’m not much of a trendsetter. I guess my motto (when it comes to spending money) could be: “If you want me to buy in, you have to prove it to me. Again and again.” My wife asked me yesterday (as we tried in vain to adjust our sprinkler) why so many products are...

The keys to product development...

I just wrote a new essay about product development. Maybe you want to check it out? For geeks like me, who stay up late reading about consumer evolution, this is fascinating stuff. If you’re a bit more casual about it, here are the highlights: The complexities of consumer choice make critical success factors for new products extremely difficult to predict. Nearly 98% of all patents fail to break even. It’s...

If I’m Gonna Talk the Talk…...

I talk (and write) a lot about sustainability, transparency and triple bottom line (economic viability, social impact and environmental responsibility), so I figure it’s time for me to be forthcoming about some of the ways I am implementing these concepts in my own life. Many of the tactics I adopt are simple. Over the past two years for example, I have: downsized my car (from a light truck to sedan) which improved...

Ask for What You Want: Corporate transparency or a...

My newest thought leadership essay explores our culture of anonymity, compares the emergence of transparency and wonders what happens when we mash them up. In it I talk about Customer Relationship 101 (and why some people make it to Hollywood), why it’s so important to ask for what we want, dealbreakers and the real way to build rapport. This leads to an observation about the Incognito event at Santa Monica Museum...

Roku who? (aka, buh-bye Comcast)....

Check this out: Roku is a cool hardware device that you plug into your tv, and turn on to enjoy something like two hundred bazillion movies. It’s that easy. (At least I think it is – I don’t actually know for sure, since I wasn’t paying attention as my 15 year old son set it up in less than five minutes). Here’s what I like about it: Quick set up (see above) Inexpensive ($99.99 one-time...